The campaign, which encourages producers to register their support on the website and to nominate producers as ‘Food Miles Champions’, aims to raise awareness of the environmental and taste benefits of buying local food. Nominations are also being sought from producers who have taken action to cut the distance that food travels from field to fork as ‘Food Miles Heroes’.
To support the campaign the Rural Team at GO-East, working with site managers and caterers, has staged a series of farmers’ markets and ‘meet the producer’ events on the premises, aimed at staff. The aim has been to highlight the impact of food purchases on the environment, local economy and the countryside, whilst encouraging staff to buy local food and cut the distance that produce has travelled to reach their plate. Caterers within the building have supported the spring and summer markets by sourcing produce from the market to use on a barbecue, timed to coincide with the market.
The events have been very successful at generating discussions between producers and consumers, as well as stimulating sales and introducing new customers for the longer term. The organisers hope that other organisations will recognise the benefits of holding a farmers’ market on their own sites over the summer.
‘Food Miles’ is the term given to the distance that food travels to reach your plate. Buying local produce means that food has travelled a shorter distance to reach you, which in turn means that fewer food miles have been used in transportation.
The East of England has the highest amount of transport-related carbon emissions of any region in the UK, with the Ecological Footprint for transport being nearly 40% higher than the national average. By buying produce from your local area you could reduce the number of car journeys that you make, which could benefit the environment as local food generally means that less carbon has been used in transporting produce to the point of sale.
For more information see:-
Local Food is Miles Better - www.fwi.co.uk
Ecological Footprint - www.wwf.org.uk
